169 Ghanaians deported from US since January – Okudzeto Ablakwa
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed that 169 Ghanaians have been deported from the United States since January 2025, with another 120 still awaiting final immigration decisions.
Briefing Parliament on Thursday, 20 November, Ablakwa said a total of 388 Ghanaians had been detained in the US over immigration-related issues since the start of the year.
“Of the 388 detained, 120 are awaiting final decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Forty-nine have exhausted all legal processes and await final deportation arrangements,” he said.
According to the minister, 90 deportees returned on commercial flights, while 66 were brought home on chartered flights under the supervision of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Ablakwa stressed that Ghana had not requested any monetary, logistical, or material support from the US in connection with the deportations. “This is purely on humanitarian grounds. These are fellow West Africans in distress, treated shabbily, without dignity. We cannot look on as Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana,” he told MPs.
The minister’s briefing came amid questions on what Ghana stands to gain from the arrangement, with Ablakwa emphasising that the government’s intervention is rooted in Pan-African solidarity.
